I'LL HAVE ANOTHER UPDATE ON THE WEATHER HERE IN A FEW MINUTES. LAURIE? INTERVIEW: THANK YOU, BETTY. AND LATE BREAKING DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERING THE JOURNALIST HELD HOSTAGE BY MILITANTS. WE'RE LEARNING U.S. FORCES RECENTLY MOUNTED A SECRET MISSION TO FREE A NUMBER OF U.S. HOSTAGES. OUR OWN ANDREW PEREZ IS LIVE WHERE STEVEN'S FAMILY LIVES. ANDREW? WE'RE LEARNING THAT SPECIAL MISSION TO FREE THE HOSTAGES ACTUALLY FAILED AND THAT IS BECAUSE WHEN THEY ARRIVED TO TAKE ACTION FOR ISIS, THEY SAY NONE OF THE HOSTAGES WERE THERE. THE PRESIDENT HAD APPROVED THIS PLAN. VERY DETAILED AND ELABORATE AND MANY HOPING SOME ACTION IS TAKEN ONCE AGAIN TO BRING THEIR LOVED ONES HOME. INTERVIEW: FOR MORE THAN A YEAR, THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHETHER HE WAS ALIVE OR DEAD. THAT IS UNTIL THE TROUBLING VIDEO SURFACED SHOWING HIM AT THE HANDS OF THE SCENE, ISLAMIC RADICAL MILITANTS WHO BRUTALLY EXECUTED AMERICAN JOURNALIST JAMES FOLEY MINUTES EARLIER. WE NEVER HAD PROOF OF LIFE. UNFORTUNATELY NOW WE SEE THIS VIDEO. WHAT A HORRIFIC ORGANIZATION THIS ISIS IS. AND THE FAMILY LIVES HERE IN SOUTH FLORIDA AND IT'S AN ABSOLUTE TRAGEDY. LOCAL POLITICIANS HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH THE FAMILY TO TRY TO FREE HIM SINCE DISAPPEARING FROM SYRIA AND WORKING. AND FOLEY DEMANDING THE U.S. STOP WITH THE AIR STRIKE ON IRAQ AND THEN DOWN ON HIS KNEES AND HIS CAPTAIN TELLING THE PRESIDENT, QUOTE, THE LIFE OF THIS AMERICAN CITIZEN DEPENDS ON THE NEXT DECISION. END QUOTE. AND IT'S FOR RIDING AND THEN GOING TO TELL THE STORIES WITH THE JEWISH ROOTS. AND THEY SAY IT WAS THE FIRST TIME ANYONE HAS SEEN OR HEARD FROM HIM. THE RESPECTED JOURNALIST, A CONTRIBUTOR FOR TIME MAGAZINE, THE DIEHARD MIAMI HEAT FAN, SEEN BY ALL THE TWEETS ON HIS TWITTER PAGE. A WHITE HOUSE PETITION HAS NOW BEEN STARTED ASKING PRESIDENT OBAMA TO BRING HIM HOME BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY. NOW THE AMERICAN FORCES INVOLVED IN THE RESCUE MISSION DID ESCAPE BUT HAVEN'T WANTED TO SPEAK ABOUT ANY OF THIS PUBLICLY, EVEN WHEN THEIR SON WAS INITIALLY CAPTURED BECAUSE

MIAMI -

ISIS has released a video that shows the beheading of U.S. journalist James Foley.

The video also shows the group threatening the life of another American if President Barack Obama doesn't end military operations in Iraq.

The National Security Council confirmed the authenticity of the video on Wednesday.

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In the video posted Tuesday on YouTube, Foley is seen kneeling next to a man dressed in black. He reads a message, presumably scripted by his captors, that his "real killer'' is America.

"I wish I had more time. I wish I could have the hope for freedom to see my family once again," Foley can be heard saying in the video.

He is then shown being beheaded.

Obama was briefed about the video and "will continue to receive regular updates," White House spokesman Eric Schultz said.

ISIS has carried out executions, including beheadings, as part of its effort to establish an Islamic caliphate that stretches from Syria into Iraq. In many cases, ISIS -- which refers to itself as the Islamic State -- has videotaped the executions and posted them online.

Foley disappeared Nov. 22, 2012, in northwest Syria, near the border with Turkey. He was reportedly forced into a vehicle by gunmen; he was not heard from again. At the time of his disappearance, he was working for the U.S.-based online news outlet GlobalPost.

On Tuesday, Foley's mother, Diane, took to social media with an emotional statement to praise and mourn her son.

"We have never been prouder of our son Jim. He gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people," she said in a post on the Free James Foley Facebook page. "We implore the kidnappers to spare the lives of the remaining hostages. Like Jim, they are innocents. They have no control over American government policy in Iraq, Syria or anywhere in the world.

"We thank Jim for all the joy he gave us. He was an extraordinary son, brother, journalist and person. Please respect our privacy in the days ahead as we mourn and cherish Jim.''

The video also shows another American journalist. In the video, the militant, who speaks English in what sounds to be a British accent, claims the journalist's life is dependent upon what Obama does next.

That journalist is believed to be Miami native and University of Central Florida graduate Steven Sotloff, who was kidnapped at the Syria-Turkey border in 2013. Sotloff is a contributor to Time and Foreign Policy magazines.

On Wednesday, Pinecrest police were spotted outside Sotloff's family's home, as his family members did not want to speak with reporters who were stationed outside.

U.S. Rep. Illeana Ros-Lehtinen has been in contact with Sotloff's family since his capture. On Wednesday, she told Local 10 News "We never had proof of life. Unfortunately now we see this video. What a horrific organization this ISIS is. They have no respect for human life."

On Wednesday we also heard from Sotloff's former roommate at UCF. "Yesterday was the first time his dad had seen or heard from his son since December, and of course that’s not the circumstances you want to hear or see him in," said Emerson Lotzia. "His dad wasn’t in the worst spirits yesterday because as of right now he knows his son is alive. He hadn’t known since December if his son was alive or not."

The Committee to Protect Journalists estimates there are about 20 journalists missing in Syria, many of them held by ISIS.

Among them is American Austin Tice, a freelance journalist who was contributing articles to The Washington Post. Tice disappeared in Syria in August 2012. There has been no word of from him since his abduction.

As a freelancer, Foley picked up work for a number of major media outlets, including Agence France-Presse and GlobalPost.

"On behalf of John and Diane Foley, and also GlobalPost, we deeply appreciate all of the messages of sympathy and support that have poured in since the news of Jim's possible execution first broke," Philip Balboni, GlobalPost CEO and co-founder, said in a published statement, referring to James Foley's parents.

"We ask for your prayers for Jim and his family."

Foley had previously been taken captive in Libya. He was detained there in April 2011 along with three other reporters and released six weeks later.

Afterward, he said that what saddened him most was knowing that he was causing his family to worry.

Foley grew up in New Hampshire and graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism in 2008. Like other young journalists who came of age after the September 11 terror attacks and American wars overseas, Foley was drawn to Iraq, Afghanistan and other areas of conflict.

Friends described Foley as fair, curious and impressively even-tempered.

"Everybody, everywhere, takes a liking to Jim as soon as they meet him," journalist Clare Morgana Gillis wrote in a blog post about him in May 2013, six months after he disappeared in Syria.

"Men like him for his good humor and tendency to address everyone as 'bro' or 'homie' or 'dude' after the first handshake. Women like him for his broad smile, broad shoulders, and because, well, women just like him."

The video of Foley was released as ISIS is being targeted by American airstrikes ordered by Obama.

"I think they may have been surprised and are doing the best they can to retaliate," former CIA director R. James Woolsey, Jr. told CNN.

Foley's killing recalled the murder of Daniel Pearl, The Wall Street Journal correspondent who was kidnapped while reporting in Pakistan in January 2002. His murder was captured on video and posted on line by al Qaeda.

It also harkened to the videotaped beheadings of Americans Nicholas Berg, Eugene Armstrong and Jack Hensley carried out by al Qaeda during the height of the Iraq War.

Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby released the following statement late Wednesday afternoon:

"The United States attempted a rescue operation recently to free a number of American hostages held in Syria by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). This operation involved air and ground components and was focused on a particular captor network within ISIL. Unfortunately, the mission was not successful because the hostages were not present at the targeted location.

"As we have said repeatedly, the United States government is committed to the safety and well-being of its citizens, particularly those suffering in captivity. In this case, we put the best of the United States military in harms' way to try and bring our citizens home.

"The United States government uses the full breadth of our military, intelligence and diplomatic capabilities to bring people home whenever we can. The United States will not tolerate the abduction of our people, and will work tirelessly to secure the safety of our citizens and to hold their captors accountable."

Former roommate of kidnapped Miami journalist speaks about Steven Sotlott

WE'LL GET YOU SET FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. CALVIN. BETTY, THANKS A LOT. ALSO TONIGHT, THE RECENT GRAPHIC VIDEO RELEASED BY ISIS ON THE BEHEADING OF AN AMERICAN JOURNAL IS ALSO INCLUDED A THREAT TO THE LIFE OF THIS MAN, A JOURNALIST FROM MIAMI WHO WAS KIDNAPPED AT THE SYRIA-TURKEY BOARD LAST YEAR. STEVEN SOTLOFF IS A CONTRIBUTOR TO SEVERAL MAINLY MAGAZINES WITH DEEP TIES TO SOUTH FLORIDA. LOCAL10 NEWS REPORTER TODD TONGEN IS LIVE IN PINECREST WITH MORE AT THE SOTLOFF HOME. Reporter: CALVIN, IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE WHAT THE SOTLOFF FAMILY WOULD COULD POSSIBLY BE GOING THROUGH AFTER NOT KNOWING KNOWINGWHERE KNOWINGWHERE WHETHER THEIR SON WAS ALIVE LIVE BUT NOW FINDING OUT HE IS IN SULL PERIL. THEIR ONLY SOLACE FRIENDS AND FAMILY COMING HERE TO THEIR PINECREST HOME TO SHOW SUPPORT. WE PRAY THAT EVERYTHING WILL TURN OUT ALL RIGHT, AND HE'S A BRAVE JOURNALIST, HAS BEEN IN EGYPT AND LIBYA, SYRIA. HE'S BEEN EVERYWHERE. Reporter: CONGRESSWOMAN ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN HAS BEEN IN CONTACT WITH STEVEN SOTLOFF'S FAMILY EVER SUNS HE DISAPPEARED NEARLY A YEAR AGO, BUT THEY DIDN'T WANT TO GO PUBLIC FEARING IT WOULD ENDANGER THEIR SON. BAREFOOT VIDEO SURFACED SHOALING HIM WITH THE SAME ISLAMIC MILITANT THAT BRUTALLY STUDIO JOURNALIST JAMES HOLE FOAL WEB THE HARSH REALITY OF STEPHEN SOTLOFF'S SITUATION IS BECOMING DISTURBINGLY CLEAR IT. SERVES NO PURPOSE FOR ISIS TO TREAT THIS INNOCENT HUMAN LIFE IN THIS MANNER, SERVES NO PURPOSE WHATSOEVER OTHER THAN THEY WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT THEY'RE A BARBARIC ORGANIZATION. Reporter: SOTLOFF IS A RESPECTED JOURNALIST. IN NOVEMBER 2012 HE WAS PUBLISHED IN TIME MAGAZINE REGARDING THE CRISIS IN LOB. NOW THE QUEST IS ON TOW BRING STEVEN HOME. A NATIVE OF MIAMI WHO ATTENDED THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA. WE SPOKE TO HIS COLLEGE ROOMMATE BY PHONE. YESTERDAY WAS THE FIRST TIME HIS DAD HAD SEEN OR HEARD FROM HIS SON N. SINCE DECEMBER, AND, OF COURSE, THOSE ARE NOT THE CIRCUMSTANCES YOU WANT TO HEAR OR SEE HIM IN BUT IT'S WHY HIS DAD WAS IN THE WORST SPIRITS POSSIBLY TODAY BECAUSE AS OF RIGHT NOW HE KNOWS HIS SON IS ALIVE. HE HADN'T KNOWN SINCE DECEMBER IF HIS SOWN WAS ALIVE OPERATORS. Reporter: A WHITE HOUSE PETITION HAS WEAN STARTED HAVING FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA TO BRING HIM HOME BY MI MEANS NECESSARY. MEANWHILE, IN THE VIDEO THE MAN IN BLACK SAYS THE LIFE OF THIS AMERICAN CITIZEN, OBAMA, DEPENDS ON YOUR NEXT DECISION. OBVIOUSLY NOW THIS STORY HAS GONE GLOBAL. THE SOTLOFF FAMILY, HOWEVER, HAS REMAINED VERY PRIVATE ABOUT THIS. THEIR NEIGHBORS NOT TALKING. THEY HAVEN'T TALKED, EITHER. HOWEVER, THEY DID SAY THAT THEY MAY ISSUE A STATEMENT SOME TIME IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

Copyright 2014 by Local10.com. CNN NewSource contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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